A Stroke of Serendipity
by xXHellfireRavenXx
Summary: The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way: "a fortunate stroke of serendipity". She wasn't sure what she was letting herself in for, getting involved with someone like him. Korra/Mako pairing
1. Chapter 1

**Well I said I'd be back in the new year with another story but I hadn't expected it to be in a completely different genre to my usual Final Fantasy haunt! I got such an amazing reaction to 'Baiting the Beast' over on the FFVII fiction area that I was eager to write again. I thought I'd grown out of Avatar:TLA when the Aang saga ended but then I saw they were doing a sequel. I gave the first two episodes a watch and here I am three days later with an 82 page Word document and roughly 24,000 words of new material! Forgive me for rambling but I think I'm just a little obsessed already! **

**Obviously as only two episodes have been released, this will probably slightly differ from the direction the series will go in, but I've tried to do as much research as possible into it as I can. I can't say how long it's going to be as I don't know myself but I will warn that like my other story that the rating may go up at some point.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I own no part of the Avatar series previous and current, I am merely a writer who enjoys her fandom, no money is being made from this story.<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter one - The Pro-Bending Championship<strong>

Republic City was a large, busy metropolis, full of dust, noise and traffic. The nearest thing that she could compare it to was a large viper's nest. It looked pretty spectacular, nestled between two mountain peaks, perched on the edge of the water; but if you were to look close enough, then you could see the suffering that was right on your doorsteps. Graffiti stretched across sparse walls, rubbish piled up in the alleyways. People were being oppressed and nobody ever bore a smile. Korra kicked aside an empty bottle with a can with a hint of disgust and spared a glance at several old men and women who were huddled around a trash can fire barely out of cover of the rain, making the most of it before they were caught by the cops and the fire was put out.

She even recognized one of the men that stalked the weekly market , selling five day old apples and peddling nick naks he'd found in the mounting rubbish heaps that most people found no use for and would never buy.

It was the same morning as any had been over her two weeks in this desolate place, Korra had snuck off early from Air Temple island across the bay towards the large and brightly lit arena that stood at the waterfront in all its glory.

Okay, it couldn't exactly be called a palace, now that she thought about it; it was too run-down; she failed to see why anyone would actually _like _living there.

One of the staircases on the east side of the building had completely collapsed and now lay on the floor in ruin, the kitchen was still useable but she'd learned quickly from Bolin that it was best to avoid the area until they could find someone brave enough to locate the cause of the pungent smell coming from inside. The roof of the gymnasium leaked so badly in one of the corners that there really wasn't any need for running water and if she had just one more run in with Toza and his moldy _black_ toothed leer; she was going to throw up.

And don't even get her started on Mako…

Sure, the pro-bending arena and the team locker rooms were tidy and well-kept to keep the punters happy, but go behind the scenes and it was another stark reminder of just how different her frozen polar world was from the bright lights and all the technology of Republic City.

She couldn't quite believe that she'd only been here fourteen days, when it felt like so much longer. At least she had Naga to remind her of home.

The young Avatar frowned and pulled her knees into her chest as she sat on the floor of the changing rooms, her thoughts wandered over a certain tall, dark haired teammate, who was stood against the nearby wall, his eyes closed and arms folded.

Almost immediately, she could feel the heat rising into her cheeks and she pulled a fresh image of the older Firebender into her mind after their previous day's practice…

_She'd been on her way to find the boys and announce she was off home and would see them bright and early for the championship match then next morning when she'd caught sight of a pair of booted feet crossed over one another and a familiar red rag tied around the neck of a snoozing member of their bending team._

_Momentarily brushing aside her slight alarm at the fact he was sitting up against the support of the windowsill of their attic apartment with his head drooping against his chest, seconds away from falling ten stories to certain death; she felt a smile creep into her mouth at his snoring. _

_She felt a tug of her stomach as she'd waited for him to wake up. From her team disguise, she had no qualms in letting her eyes trail over his smooth spikes of charcoal hair, the perfectly pale skin and his closed lids over his most attractive feature…wait…scratch that…second most attractive feature; those golden liquid amber eyes always betrayed his normally cool stance and attitude to dueling. And if she ever got bored of losing herself in those bottomless pools, she could just stare at his ass all day. She wasn't picky. Both were great ways to spend some time on a lazy afternoon after practice. _

_Had it been a year or two previously, she would have blushed fiercely at even getting the chance to appreciate the view in front of her. It would have given her the…what had Master Sokka told her the word for it was? _

_Oogies that was it! It would have given her the oogies. The thought made her laugh unexpectedly._

_Korra was brought out of her daydream to find a pair of inquisitive eyes regarding her from the window, their owner now very clearly awake and wondering what his teammate had found so amusing._

_Her right hand clamped over her mouth to muffle the sound but she pulled it away again at the realization that the damage had already been done. _

"_Whoops, did I just laugh out loud?"_

"_It was more of a bark actually." he raised an eyebrow at her; she grinned sheepishly at him and folded her arms. _

"_Eh…sorry about that…"_

"_I didn't hear you come in." The Firebender looked vaguely worried for her sanity, before it was replaced with curiosity._

"_Well it's a good thing I did, you were seconds away from falling to your death!" she prodded at him and placed her hands on her hips haughtily. "You should be thanking me for saving your life."_

_Mako looked at her in surprise, he would have thought by her tone that she was offended, but he liked to thing he knew her well enough already that he could detect the smile in her eyes. He soon found himself easing into a smile of his own. _

_Her smile had always made him feel lighter. Even in the face of adversity, this girl was usually always upbeat...she was a stubborn, impatient and hotheaded fruit loop sometimes, but nobody was perfect. One of Korra's favorite pastimes was making up new and increasingly degrading nicknames for him, something that to his horror, his brother, Bolin had quickly picked up on. _

_Two days ago, he'd been called a 'fireflake'; yesterday it was 'pookie' and today? Meh, who knew…_

"_I wasn't sleeping; I was meditating." He swung his legs to the floor and folded his arms as he got to his feet. "I took advantage of the silence…"_

_The twitch in her left eye was the only clear indication that she had reacted to his denial._

"_Well you certainly sounded like you were asleep, I'm sure the entire north pole could hear you snoring!" she took a step towards him, her eyes alight with fire._

_Mako clenched his fist tightly to avoid getting into another argument with the stubborn girl and he failed to rise to her argument. The avatar watched as he reached a gloved hand to readjust his red scarf and walk out of the door, allowing a small nod in her direction. _

_Standing there with her mouth open, she muttered 'jerk…' under her breath and marched off to find Naga so she could go home._

Back in the changing room, Korra couldn't move. Her heart was hammering in her chest and her mouth had gone dry. Mako was staring at the door as though it would burst into flame at any moment and Bolin was wearing a groove into the floor with his constant pacing. She was sure she had bitten off most of her nails in her anxiety and didn't know how much longer she could last like this.

So when a soft buzzer emitted into the silence, announcing that it was time to play their championship match, all of them turned to one another.

"Remember; don't let your guard down at any moment." Mako began. "Any sign of weakness and they will try and take you out in an instant."

Korra swallowed a dry lump in her throat and Bolin looked as though he wanted nothing more than to throw up.

"Let's go."

Two rounds in and Korra didn't think they were doing too badly, the opposing team only had one bender left after a particularly kick-ass combo from the two brothers completely knocked their Water _and_ Firebender out of the arena and into the drink below. They still had two zones and all three of their team.

She knew that Mako had told her not to let her guard down, but she couldn't resist a little taunting. The opposing earthbender looked like he'd been beaten to a bloody pulp with the ugly stick.

"Didn't anybody tell you that Halloween isn't for another six months?" Korra simpered. "Oh wait…I thought that was a mask. Sorry buddy!"

He didn't seem at all phased by her taunt and she briefly wondered if he was as deaf as he was ugly.

Caught off guard by his stoicism, she failed to pay attention as he swiftly kicked out at her and a pillar of earth connected painfully with her ankle, she let out a yelp of pain and collapsed to the floor, holding her anklebone while the two brothers unleashed a torrent of earth and firebending at the one remaining member of the opposing team in an attempted to bring him down.

Again two swift kicks and two bended pillars of earth later and the two brothers were also on the floor, dazed.

Korra hissed at the pain in her leg and got too her feet, the earthbender may have been twice her size, but had she not let her guard down, she would have been able to disable him within seconds.

She scolded herself for letting her confidence get the better of her and shot several ice daggers in his direction; which he dodged quickly. His horrible grin made her throat tighten is disgust made her cry out in a strangled whimper as she was lifted off of her feet again and a cry ripped from her throat as she landed painfully with her swollen ankle beneath her.

Korra collapsed fully to the ground and whimpered as a pair of footsteps thudded closer in her head. She was vaguely aware of the person kneeling and pulling her into their arms, it was then she blacked out.

"Korra!" Bolin shouted across at the girl as Mako cradled her in his arms.

Within seconds, her eyes had opened again of their own accord, but where there should have been a bright cerulean blue, shone a blinding pale blue light. The hairclips on either side of her cheeks were also glowing with the same strange light, as were the gauntlets clipped to each lower arm.

A torrent of air surrounded the Avatar and pulled her to her feet, blasting the young Firebender away, seemingly forgetting her broken ankle, she turned her head to look straight at the opposing earthbender; who was looking torn between pride and horror.

"What the hell is going on?" Bolin shouted to his brother above the deafening roar that reverberated through the very foundations of the arena as the water that surrounded them rose into a high wall above the four of them on the plateau, ready to come crashing down at a moment's wave of her hand as Mako and Bolin looked on in wonder.

"She's going into the Avatar state!" Mako shouted back, raising his arms to shield his face as a torrent of Airbending threatened to blast them off the platform and into the wall of water behind them. "Go and get everybody out of here! I'll try and calm her down!" Mako shouted to his younger brother.

Doing as he was told, the Earthbender encased himself in stone armor and launched himself through the wall of water and out of sight. Mako watched him go for a brief second before he turned back to Korra, who was raising her arms ready to bend the waves towards the man, who realized what was about to happen a second before it did.

"Go ahead and do it!" he shouted recklessly. "My death will only add to the propaganda that the Equalists' have spread against you benders! Amon will reign over these lands and destroy the lot of you disgusting freaks!" he added as the water began to move towards him.

Mako's eyes widened at the display and sprinted towards Korra, he was relieved when he wasn't immediately blasted away from her and he stood in front of her, placing his palms on either side of her face.

"Korra? Can you hear me?" he shouted over the noise. "Please stop this! You'll destroy everything!"

Staring into the glow that encapsulated her eyes, he watched as his words seemed to sink in and the glow surrounding her began to dissipate. He watched as her eyes returned their normal cerulean for a second before they rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed into his arms, silent once again.

Breathing heavily from the adrenaline rush of watching the raw power that she had been about to let loose, he looked away from her and watched as the water lost its momentum and crashed back down into the moat that surrounded the platform. The wind eventually died down and to his relief he saw that Bolin had managed to evacuate all of the spectators from their stands before anyone had gotten hurt. His hand on her temple moved down to cup her cheek and to his immense relief, she opened her tired looking eyes and gazed at his face, he sighed.

"What's the matter?" she asked quietly, wondering why she was on the floor, nestled in his arms.

He frowned at her. "You don't remember?" She looked genuinely confused.

"I remember that jerk shooting a pillar of earth at me and then everything went black..." she replied truthfully.

"Y-you collapsed, and then a second later your eyes opened and started glowing…" Mako struggled to explain clearly, his breathing still erratic. "You bent a wall of water thirty feet high and were about to completely destroy the entire place."

Korra gasped in horror looked away for a moment. There was debris everywhere and some of the stands had been completely smashed. The roof had also been blasted away in part.

"I…I don't remember any of that…I only remember everything going black and then I woke up with you looking over me-!" she began.

"Korra!" A booming voice came from their left. Korra was relieved to see Tenzin striding towards her with a terrified looking Bolin, who gawped at her timidly and stopped several feet away from her, terrified of coming any closer.

"Master Ten-" Korra began.

"What on earth were you thinking child!" he roared at her. "You could have brought this entire building down on half of the city's population!"

"I-"

"I've had to stop the entire police force from charging into this place and arresting you for attempted murder!"

"But-"

"Have you any idea how _dangerous_ it is to use the Avatar state?" his entire face had turned bright purple and Mako and Bolin were watching helplessly as the Airbending Master unleashed his anger. "When there are innocent civilians nearby, especially! How could you be so irresponsible?"

"QUIET!" Korra balled her fists and screamed at her Airbending teacher.

He was so shocked that his pupil had screamed at him that he instantly held his voice.

"I've been trying to explain…I can't remember anything that just happened!" Korra shouted at the man with tears streaming down her face. "I've never even been able to use the Avatar State before so how the hell am I supposed to control it if I don't even know how to enter it!"

Within an instant, the man's expression softened and he watched her fall to her knees and sob into her hands.

Mako and Bolin looked at each other helplessly before the older man kneeled before her and pulled her hands away from her eyes. He tilted her chin up and held her chin in his hand.

"Forgive me, for jumping to conclusions." He spoke kindly. "I had no idea you-"

"WHERE IS THE TRAITOR!" shrieked a female voice. The four of them turned to see Chief Bei Fong striding towards them with a livid expression on her face, several Metalbender cops in tow. Tenzin immediately stood in front of her protectively.

"Move aside Councilor Tenzin! Do not protect that girl! She has made herself an enemy of this city!" Lin seethed at the man.

"Young man, you and your brother will please escort Korra somewhere safe until I have dealt with this." Tenzin turned to Mako. "I will come and collect her when I have finished."

Korra looked up at the Firebender as he nodded and held out his hand for her to take and he helped her to a shaky foot. He then motioned for her to jump on his back. She briefly looked at him as though he had suddenly grown a second head and had the situation called for it, he would have laughed.

"It's the only way we can get you to safety quickly and you're not fit to stand on that leg." said Mako.

Bolin moved forwards to help Korra onto his brother's back after deciding she wasn't going to explode on him. After successfully having navigating her way onto him, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and nuzzled her face into the back of his neck.

He blushed lightly at the contact but it quickly vanished as the three of them were bent off the platform by Bolin.

As they left the arena, Korra could hear the chief of police once again shouting at Tenzin.

"_I knew that that girl would be a menace the moment she entered this city! She is not fit to be left on her own, she should be locked away where she cannot harm another single human being-"_

The angry female voice trailed off into silence as Korra felt the tears trailing down her cheek and into Mako's red scarf. It was a few moments before the nineteen year old noticed that his scarf was starting to get damp from her tears.

The ashamed Avatar didn't even have the heart to ask where the three of them were going, she secretly hoped they would be leading her to a secure cell somewhere where she could be locked away forever and never be able to use her bending again.

As though he could sense her turmoil, he stopped for a moment and turned to Bolin.

"Will you go an extra bed up in the living room?" he murmured to his brother, who nodded and went on ahead.

"D-don't…its fine…I'll find somewhere secluded I can stay…I really don't think it's a good idea for me to be around anyone right now…especially not crashing out in your living room."

She moved to get down from Mako's back until he turned around and lifted her up and sat her down on the step in front.

"Who said you're going to crash in the living room?" Mako tilted his head and looked at her softly. "You're having my room; I'll take the spare bed."

Korra blinked up and him and her cheeks colored. "N-no you don-"

"Look, just because you got pissed and tried to destroy everything doesn't mean-"

"But I'm a monster!" she stood up and shouted up at him. Forgetting that she still had a broken ankle, a searing pain quickly shot up her calf and she stumbled forwards into his chest.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

"My leg." she whimpered in a shaky voice as she lifted her bad foot off the ground.

"I think it's broken." Mako began as he heard her breathing heavily.

"Really?" she muttered sarcastically and winced as he pulled her into his chest and placed a hand on the back of her head. "Ya think?"

He frankly marveled how she found time to show her sarcasm at a time like this, but at least she was starting to return to her usual self.

She was thankful he couldn't see her blushing as she nestled against the muscles of his chest and took in the scent of spices against his neck.

"You're not a monster." He whispered to her quickly. She could feel words that weren't ready to be spoken burning the back of her throat. A bout of nausea hit her full force and gave her the impression she was about to fall, full force through the floor below her. Hugging into Mako a little tighter, she pressed herself into his upper torso and her fingers clutched desperately at his jacket.

She began to trembling and she whimpered slightly as one of his hands travelled up the side of her waist to rest against the back of her neck; his fingers were lost in the back of her ponytail and his other hand squeezed against her waist.

"_You're not a monster."_ He repeated, more to himself than anything. Korra swallowed a lump in her throat and she tilted her head back to look at him.

Their noses were only inches away from touching and she saw his golden eyes dip down to her parted lips for a moment before they flickered back up again.

"Ok, the spare beds read-" Bolin returned and he took one look at his brother and Korra in the position they were in and he raised an eyebrow. "Am I interrupting something?" he added with a smirk.

The two looked at one another in surprise before they jumped apart and Korra pushed Mako away from her.

"Nope…nothing to see here!" she spoke a little too loudly and started a comical hop on one foot before she staggered and had to grab on to the wall for support. She managed to hop up the rest of the stairs and out of sight before another word was spoken.

"Riiight…" Bolin drawled out, his arms folded, not believing it for a second. He then turned to his brother and waggled his eyebrows suggestively before waltzing off after her.

Mako sighed to himself and raised a hand to rub his temple. What had just happened?

Worse still, why the_ hell_ had he enjoyed it?

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><p><strong>Am I the only one completely in love with the thought of Korra and Mako? Or perhaps I could steal Mako and keep him in a box where no one else can have him...hes mine I tell you! Mine! <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, what a great response! Thanks for that guys. I'm thinking of checking myself into a rehab center for addictions. Do you think I'll be laughed away for being addicted to a cartoon? Meh. Heres the next chapter anyways. Hope you enjoy! **

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><p>Rolling over in her makeshift bed that night, Korra yawned quietly and paused to rub her eyes before she sighed and pulled back the covers and gazed up at the ceiling. She'd tried everything she knew of to help her to fall asleep and each one of them had completely failed her. She'd counted penguins, had hummed a water tribe hymn and even recounted an entire collection of Airbending scrolls that Tenzin had presented her with to try and drill the fundamentals of the art into her stubborn head.<p>

It'd been raining outside for the past few hours and she secretly liked to think that the clouds could hear her inner turmoil and were trying to cheer her up; she hadn't really seen rain before; hailing from one of the coldest tundra's on the planet, the extreme cold froze the water vapour out of the air before having the chance to hit the ground. The gentle patter was endearing to her and she briefly had the urge to run outside and spin around in circles like she had done during her first snowfall as a child.

Still thinking about the conversation that she'd had with the boys before she'd gone to bed that night, she sighed and pulled her knees into her chest.

_Korra was sat in the same place she had been for an hour but with the addition of cloth packed with bended ice held against her forehead. It was situations like these that she was extremely glad she was a Waterbender. Having finally managed to bring the fuzziness in her head under control, she was sat with Mako and Bolin at their rickety kitchen table, nursing weary eyes and a warm cup of tea._

_"How are you feeling, Korra?" she wasn't sure that the shiver that wracked through her body at Mako's enquiry had been caused by the softness in his voice or her body telling her that she still felt like crap. _

_"Terrible…" Korra mumbled quietly into the granite surface as she lowered her forehead to touch the table. " Like Naga just sat on me..."_

_Bolin shot a concerned look across to his brother, who was showing nothing on his face as he stared at the Avatar._

_"And it was all going so well…" she uttered with a depressed sigh._

_"What are you talking about?" Bolin blinked, not entirely sure that he and Korra were on the same page._

_"We were all doing so well, just two rounds away from taking the championship!" she flung her arm out as if to demonstrate the severity of losing their title match. "Then that cheesedick Taro decides to piss me off and I go all glowy and badass on everyone!" She looked wildly between her two teammates before slumping back in her chair and sighing. "Why am I so hopeless?"_

_Bolin's mouth was open and Mako had both eyebrows raised as they watched their newest friend berate herself over their loss. Neither Mako nor Bolin gave a rat about their loss; they were both far more concerned that they could have lost something infinitely more precious to the both of them than losing a simple game. Mako voiced their shared opinions._

"_You really think that we're more concerned about losing the championship that we are about your wellbeing?" Korra winced as his chair scraped along the floor behind him as he rose to his feet and slammed his palms down on the table in anger, seconds away from breathing a jet of fire into her shocked face._

"_But it means so much to you and I went and messed everything up!" Korra shouted back, rising from her seat to face the angry Firebender. "All I ever do is mess everything up, Mako!"_

_Bolin opened his mouth and watched helplessly as things quickly got out of hand. _

"_I could have killed everyone today! I could have hurt you and Bolin! Naga and what about Tenzin? His pregnant wife! His children? Huh?" tears streamed down her face as her voice went hoarse from her yelling. _

"_But you didn't!" he hissed, his chest constricting painfully at her despair. "Going into the Avatar state wasn't you're fault Korra!" he yelled, his palms beginning to singe the wood of the table as his internal temperature increased with his fury as she collapsed to the floor by the stove._

"_I'm sorry…I'm so sorry." She gasped into her hands. _

_He was about to say more when Bolin raised a gentle hand to press against his firearm, a silent gesture that Korra understood was the Earthbender's way of calming his brother down; and moved to gather the inconsolable Korra into his arms, he gawped helplessly at his older brother and gestured for him to do something, anything to make her feel better._

_Something passed over Mako's eyes and he slumped down next to the girl with a sigh. "You're right, fighting won't solve anything…"_

_When she heard those familiar words that had been spoken to her so many times, she sniffed and raised her tear stained eyes to look at him. _

_Bolin smiled at her reassuringly and gave her a playful wink while Mako raised two thumbs to wipe away the tear tracks on her cheeks._

_"Let's go into the city tomorrow, we can see the sights and live it up a bit." Mako murmured to her, thinking of a way they could cheer her up. It was awful to see her cry and she was much more beautiful with a confident smile on her face. _

"_I've seen most of the city already." So far she wasn't taking the bait. Maybe humor might cheer her up a little._

"_Then how about a sparring match?" Bolin offered, knowing Korra liked a good tussle. "I don't mind taking a beating if you wanna let off some steam…"_

_Korra managed a weak smile at his offer but declined gracefully. "I don't think that would help much, but thanks."_

_Bolin looked thoughtful for a moment before his eyes met his brother's briefly and he suddenly grinned. Mako knew his brother inside and out and he knew nothing good ever came his way when Bolin smiled like that._

"_Then how about beating up Mako instead?" he offered his surprised brother as a willing sacrifice to the rage of an upset and emotional Avatar, fucking fantastic._

_He shot her a worried glance when laughter bubbled in her throat. _

"_Now that would make me feel better…"_

She smiled to herself briefly when she remembered the way that Mako's eyes had widened after her admission last night and she was about to laugh when a clattering in the next room pricked at her ears and distracted her. Ever curious; she hauled herself out of bed silently, eager to find out why someone would be moving noisily around the kitchen at three in the morning.

She suspected it might have been Mako, he seemed the type to have trouble sleeping; Bolin on the other hand could fall asleep anywhere, anytime and in any situation. It made watching over him a full time effort. It was probably one of the only things that made her feel a little sympathy towards the stoic Firebender.

She stifled a laugh upon hearing a smooth voice humming to itself quietly from the other room. Korra wouldn't peg him for the type to hum to himself, whether on his own or around others.

Unable to decide whether to remain in her room and poke her head out of the window to feel the rain on her skin or brave the kitchen and have to make conversation with an irritable Firebender who couldn't sleep, a smile crept to her face and she grabbed a hold of the heavy shutters at the window and wrenched them open. They did so with a dull shriek and she gasped quickly, pausing to gauge for a reaction and hoping that the sound hadn't alerted the occupied Firebender to her presence. After a few moments of waiting with baited breath and no sign that she'd been heard, she grinned again and slipped silently out of the open portal, perching herself on the windowsill.

It was no secret to the people who knew her well that she was an adrenaline seeker; it would often be the cause of arguments at home; especially when she had a habit of returning home with cuts and bruises but a exhilarated smile plastered over her face and a sparkle in her aqua eyes.

Bolin had been right in his statement that the two brothers had a great view from up here. Mako had a beautiful view of Temple Island from his window and she suspected that Bolin had an even more stunning view of the mountains and city lights to the north-west.

Placing her hands securely by her sides, she leaned out passed the shelter of the overhanging roof of the tower until she could feel the rain hitting her skin, it felt strange and very cold for a few moments until the sensation washed over her completely. She laughed quietly and her eyelids fluttered closed as she tilted her head back to let the droplets caress her face.

It felt wonderful to feel her native element on her skin without it being controlled by bending. It didn't take long until she was completely soaked from head to toe and had she not been a Firebender also, her body would have been covered in Goosebumps and shivered.

"Y'know, we _do_ have a shower..." a surprised Avatar jumped and turned her dripping face to find a smirking Mako leaning in the open doorway between the kitchen and his bedroom with his arms folded.

More than a little embarrassed at being caught leaning out of his window during a rainstorm and completely soaked to the bone, her cheeks colored a delicious pink before she shook it off and hopped back down, scowling at him and mimicking his pose.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked suspiciously.

Shooting her a raised eyebrow, he smiled at her expression. "Well since this _is_ my bedroom and all-"

"Don't get fresh with me _hotshot_!" Korra stomped towards her teammate and prodded him in the chest. "It may be your bedroom but you can't just waltz in here without knocking. I could have been doing anything!" She looked mortified as an image of being caught getting changed by Mako flowed through her head. She blushed again.

"Like _what_?" his curiosity peaked at just what he could have caught her doing.

"None of your _damn_ business that's what!" she barked at him, enraged by just how amusing he seemed to find this whole thing.

"Well I just came to grab a clean shirt before heading down to the gymnasium." He unfolded his hands and placed them on his hips. "Is that alright with you, _Princess_?" he murmured softly with an eyebrow raised.

Korra's eyes widened a little at his close proximity but she was quick with a comeback.

"It's perfect!" she quipped happily. "I finally get the chance to kick your ass just like I said I would."

She left him looking put out as she tapped him on the shoulder and whisked passed him and into the kitchen.

"I'll meet you in the gymnasium in five minutes." She called behind her as she disappeared from view out of their makeshift front door.

"Hey, I didn't agree to this!" dejavu hit him as he shouted after her.

"You can thank me later…" she popped her head round the doorjamb quickly and gave him a brief sly grin and a salute.

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><p>He stepped back towards her to find her grinning at him coyly as he'd narrowly missed a boulder to his left temple, catching his breath for a moment; he then went on the offensive with a whip of fire aimed to bring her to her knees. Korra dodged easily with a backflip and she sped towards him with a fire punch.<p>

Mako saw an opening and took it, feeling immense satisfaction in her squeaked when he quickly ducked, strode around her and hooked his hands round her shoulders to immobilize her arms. He tried not to think about the way her toned muscles contracted beneath her skin at his contact and he quickly shook away the blush in his cheeks as he looked over her shoulder and caught the way her ample chest rose up and down with her heavy breathing.

"No bending." She gasped, her aquamarine eyes darkened at the feel of his chest and pelvis pressed tightly against her back and backside. "Just our fists."

He let loose a curse as she shifted her feet and reached behind to grab his shirt and use it to toss him over her head and onto the mat in front of her. He landed badly on his shoulder and he hissed as he felt the muscle contract. She was about to jump back out of the way before he could swing his legs round and kick her off her feet when he rose to his knees and grabbed her by the shoulders instead, pulling her down and rolling over several times until he was straddling her pelvis.

"You sure about that?" he flung at her, impressed with her strength, not only in her bending, but the shear physical strength within her deceptively small body. His shoulder was starting to really hurt like hell.

His hands found their way again to her hips and she tilted her head at him, her expression was unreadable and a chill ran down her spine. He stared at her for a moment before she half smiled at him, he grunted in surprise when he felt his entire world shift and his back hit the mat, her straddling his hips this time, his hands pinned above his head.

"What's the matter?" she shot down at him. "Afraid of getting beat up by a _girl_?"

"But you aren't just any girl are _you_?" he shot back with a smirk.

Quite opposite to the chill that had previously ran down her spine, she could feel herself heating up as he stared into her eyes again, something flashing across the liquid amber and she waited for him to react. He tried to wriggle his legs but she was quick to encase them in an earthen pillar, breaking her own terms of not using their bending skills in their fight.

"Hey, no bending." He whispered up at her, narrowing his eyes.

The sight of her straddling his waist, breathing heavily and all sweaty with her hair all mussed up was an incredibly sexy one and he decided to see how much further he could press her.

"What can I say? I hate to lose…" she admitted, grinning down at him.

He wriggled his hands out of her grasp and caught her easily, rising up to press the both of them together; a thumb tracing lightly across her right cheek and then jaw bone, her smile disappeared quickly as she dipped her eyes to watch his thumb. There was a patch of red quietly making its way across her cheeks as she raised her fingertips and her eyes up to his face.

The feeling was incredible, being so close to him and touching his heated skin. Her hand dropped to his shoulder and he visibly winced.

Her eyes furrowed for a moment and she gave his shoulder a hesitant squeeze.

"Hey, that hurts." He hissed quietly.

"Sorry…" Mako looked up at her and chuckled.

"You're not a bad sparing partner." she felt her confidence return when he didn't look at her like an imbecile and gave her a smile. "For a _girl_." He added teasingly.

"Don't get all grumpy cause you lost, Hotshot…" Korra folded her arms and gave him an appraising look.

"I didn't lose. I call it a draw." He said distractedly, placing a warm palm on his injury and rotating his shoulder. The avatar watched him for a moment before she rolled her eyes and batted his hand away.

"Oh come here." Korra snipped at him, sitting on her knees, Mako blushed fiercely when he saw how close his face was to her chest and for fear of doing or saying anything embarrassing, he turned his head to the side and bit his tongue.

She found it hilarious that he was behaving like a petulant child and she prodded his shoulder with a gleeful grin.

"Argh...Korra…that...ow...hurts." he winced as she removed her hand to bend a glove of water around it and settle it against the steadily forming bruise.

He saw a bright blue glow out of the corner of his eye and was he not so determined to avoid brushing up against certain _assets_ of her anatomy; he would have watched her healing him.

"You're getting my shirt wet." He complained.

"Stop whining." She glanced at him briefly and then smiled coyly "You can strip off if you want, I'm not complaining…"

He felt a shiver travel through him at her audacity but he shook it off quickly, the moment between them had passed and he was too worn out from their sparing to start another war of wits with her. When the pain had eventually receded and the bruise had dissipated, she moved away and he twisted round and rotated his shoulder, testing it.

It wasn't the first time he had watched her heal either herself or someone, but it was the first time she had felt the need to heal _him_. It really was a peculiar feeling and he couldn't say it was enjoyable. It was like being plunged into a vat of ice cold water and the feeling of cold still lingered long after the injury had been healed.

"There you go, Hotshot." Korra tried to get to her feet but was halted when he grabbed her hand.

"Thank you." he replied softly, looking up at her, for some reason he felt the need to take her into his arms again, so he did exactly that. His chin rested on top of her head and he closed his eyes. Had anyone walked in on them now, they would believe they had stumbled upon a quiet embrace between lovers. Korra could feel her heartbeat speeding up as she was tightly secured in the arms of her teammate and she exhaled slowly, once again breathing in his scent. Mako's black hair was tickling her nose but she didn't care. He was usually such a strong and powerful bender that it was strange to see him being so gentle. It sent a thrill through her veins at the thought of him being like this in _other_ situations.

"C'mon Mako, let's go do something."

As if only suddenly being made aware of the fact the two of them were still wrapped tightly around one another, he slowly freed her and allowed her to get to her feet.

"What, exactly?" he asked warily. Korra shot him a scowl.

Why did he always assume that she had a motive for everything?

"What?" she folded her arms and cocked a hip to the side. "You make it sound like I'm going to go and get us into trouble."

Rather than have her take a swing for him for laughing at her for sounding offended, he simply smirked and raised an eyebrow.

She watched the motion of his facial features and privately noted that if she had to see another eyebrow wiggle from either the Firebender or his little brother she was going to start calling them _'The Fabulous Brow Brothers'_.

"We've been down here nearly three hours, why don't we go wake Bolin, rustle up some breakfast and then go see the city?" he asked.

"I'm not going anywhere with you until you take a shower, stinky." She griped, her eyes trailing over his saturated white tank top.

Scowling, he turned to her. "_Fine_, shower first and _then_ breakfast."

Grinning, she stalked off towards the attic and waved. "Catch you upstairs, Hotshot."

Sighing at her departure, he followed after her after a moment; suddenly remembering that they only possessed a single shower. She wouldn't appreciate him ogling her while she walked from the bathroom with just a towel on.. Although imagining her with no –

'_NO!' _His mind stopped that thought process before it manifested or he would be following her into the female facilities. That really wouldn't end well.

He let out a groan and stalked off towards the male changing rooms instead. A cold shower would do just nicely.

* * *

><p>Once she had undressed and stepping into the shower to let the hot water sooth her tired muscles and sweaty body, she sighed heavily. Being a Waterbender was all well and good, but sometimes there was nothing like a hot shower to ease the strain after a good spar.<p>

'_Imagine it, Korra the sweat-bender…'_ She snorted as the thought passed through her head. It reminded her of a funny story that Master Katara had once told her during a waterbending practice about when she and Toph had been trapped in a wooden cell and Katara had used her own sweat to break the both of them free. She had laughed so hard that she had thrown her dinner over one of the White Lotus sentries standing behind her, who had looked less than impressed.

Once she had erased all traces of dirt and sweat from her hair and body, and washed her clothes with bending, she dressed for the day and shoved the used towel on what she assumed was the linen pile.

As she exited the room, she saw Mako return, his hair was still wet and he had no top on.

Korra dropped her gaze to look at his glistening skin before he used his bending to dry himself from tip to toe.

"Is this better?" he asked, smiling as he noticed her checking out his bare chest.

"Yeah, definitely." She grinned. "You go wake Bo, I'll start on breakfast."

He squinted his eyes at her suspiciously again.

"What? I'm a great cook!" she defended, opening a few cupboards to find supplies.

Begrudgingly, he nodded and went to wake up his brother, who slept like a log. Mako usually had to resort to violence just to get him out of bed in the mornings.

After five minutes of poking, prodding and the threat of singeing off his thick eyebrows, the Earthbender eventually pulled back the covers and sighed.

He would have said good morning had a large bang and a blood curdling scream not come from the vicinity of the kitchen.

Bolin quickly came to his senses and he and Mako shared a look before they rushed into the room. Something smelled awful and Korra was nowhere to be seen.

"Morning guys..." she said weakly, her ponytail poking out from under the kitchen table.

She watched the brothers eyes drift briefly over her and then the mess that was supposed to be their breakfast, most of it was dripping from the ceiling and some had even traveled as far as the sink.

"Eheh…my attempts at making breakfast." she added at their silent enquiry, her cheeks colored in embarrassment..."I thought it would be a nice way to say thanks…Y'know…for letting me stay last night.."

"I thought you said you were a 'great cook'?" Mako used air quotes.

Horrified, Bolin turned to him. "And you _believed_ her?"

After looking at the mess again with his mouth hanging open, Bolin turned to Korra. "I tried to use firebending to cook it as I didn't know how to turn on the stove..." she bended some water out of a pitcher on the table and cleaned away the mess into the sink. "It kinda blew up in my face."

"What _was_ it?" Mako asked, grateful that she had thought to use her bending to clear away the mess.

"Pancakes."

That explained the color.

While the brothers appreciated the kind sentiment, they quickly made a mental note to never accept _anything_ edible from the young Avatar at any point in the future.

"Who's thirsty?" Korra grinned.

For just a quick second, the brothers looked at one another, before Mako shook his head and silently got to his feet, she frowned as he moved in front of her, put his hands on her shoulders and marched her into one of the spare seats at the table.

"Sit." he spoke briefly. The Firebender turned away and began sifting through the cupboards, emerging with several packets of food. Korra watched silently as he set to work and emerged from the stove with three plates of steaming rice and eggs.

"You're just full of surprises aren't you?" Korra was astounded. "I never knew you could cook!"

"I'm no expert." he told her humbly, secretly pleased that she was impressed with his cooking.

"Wow Bo', you've got him well trained!" Korra laughed. "Can you make him do tricks too?"

Mako turned too glared at her sourly, she simply grinned at him and turned back to Bolin, who was howling with laughter.

"I see you're in a better mood this morning." He noted with a smile. Being miserable really didn't suit her. That was Mako's territory.

"I didn't get much sleep last night actually, I was busy thinking things over…" Korra muttered the words.

At the tone of the voice, the two brothers turned to one another and then back to the troubled Avatar.

"Thinking what over?" Bolin asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

She chewed on her food for a moment, as though deciding the best way to say what was on her mind.

"Well…I've been thinking about this long and hard…It's not been an easy decision but I think it's for the best…I really couldn't stand it if I ever hurt one of you." Korra admitted sadly. "Guys – I'm quitting the team."

* * *

><p><strong>What did you guys think? <strong>


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